India calls out Canada for inaction on Lawrence Bishnoi Gang members arrest requests

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Thursday revealed that 26 extradition requests and several provisional arrest requests for criminals have been pending with Canada for over a decade.

Jaiswal stated that India provided security-related information to the Canadian government regarding members of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang and requested their arrest. However, he noted that there has been no action taken by the Canadian authorities in response to these requests.

Jaiswal also noted that individuals India sought to deport for their alleged criminal activities are now being blamed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) for crimes committed in Canada.


"We had shared security related information with the Canadian govt regarding gang members including those of Lawrence Bishnoi gang and requested them to arrest them (criminals)...so far no action has been taken by Canadian side on our request...we find it really strange that now people who we wanted to be deported or action to be taken, we are being told that, RCMP is blaming Indian side for the crimes committed by these people in Canada," Jaiswal said.

India has responded to Canada's accusations, labeling them as "baseless" and stating that no evidence has been provided by the Trudeau government. This comes after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau admitted during a public inquiry that he had only intelligence and lacked "hard evidentiary proof" regarding allegations of India's involvement in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar last year.

During a weekly briefing, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal emphasized that Canada has not shared any evidence to back their serious charges. He stated, "The current crisis (in India-Canada relationship) has been precipitated by the Trudeau government's baseless allegations."

The MEA spokesperson also told that India had summoned the acting High Commissioner of Canada and expressed a lack of confidence in the Canadian government's ability to ensure the safety of Indian diplomats. Consequently, India decided to withdraw its High Commissioner and five other diplomats.

Jaiswal noted that shortly after this decision, the Canadian authorities communicated their request for the diplomats to leave, but India had already acted before that request was made.

The MEA also emphasized that while economic ties between the two countries remain strong, they have consistently reminded Canada about the anti-India activities promoted within its borders.